My name is Michael Lee. I play keyboards. I also write music, do some arranging, some string orchestrations, I’ve produced a few albums, and I am a technical consultant for Apple’s Logic Studio software. Like everyone else in this town, I do a little of everything. But mostly, I play keyboards.
Sometime in the 1980’s, everybody forgot how to make face-melting, bone-rattling synths, and started making anemic little samplers. Screw that! When I say, “I play keyboards”, what I mean is, I play a Hammond B3, Fender Suitcase Rhodes, Mini Moog, ARP 2600, ARP Omni 2, a Jupiter 8 through a custom guitar effects pedal-board, Wurtlitzer 200, and a Juno 6.
And, if you insist, I can also wheel out the Triton Studio 88, the MacBook Pro, and the refrigerator rack full of samplers.
Hidalgo (keyboards, vocals on ending credits song), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (live keyboards), The Late Show with David Letterman (live keyboards), The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborne (live keyboards), The Blockbuster Music Awards (house band, keyboards), The Prism Awards (house band, keyboards) Last Call with Carson Daily (live keyboards), Canada AM (live keyboards), The Mike Bullard Show (live keyboards), VH1 Divas (house band, keyboards), The Dr. Phil Show (keyboards on season promo), She Spies (sideline keyboards), Pantene Presents: Live from Central Park on MTV2 (live keyboards)
Over the past few years, most of the projects I’ve played on take place through remote sessions. The gear stays setup at my place, with a full ProTools HD rig, Logic Pro, and all of the vintage keyboards. Your engineer can upload the tracking mixes to my server, and when the project is finished the keyboard tracks can either be sent back over the internet, or mailed back to you on a CD-R. I’m setup to do live video chat during the tracking, or you can just send me the session files, and let me find my own way through the songs.
If you’d rather take the session to a studio, I highly recommend Eldorado Recording in Burbank. I’ve done dozens of sessions with them, and the result is always something that artists are excited about. They staff the room with professionals, their equipment is pristine, and their selection of vintage mics and outboard gear brings out that huge sound that you can only get from a classic LA studio.
coming soon …